Day: July 11, 2024

The Western Cape Education Department has announced its decision to extend the closure of schools in the Cape Winelands and Overberg districts to Friday, following a meeting with the Provincial Disaster Risk Management (PDRM).

However, all schools in the other education districts are to re-open tomorrow.

This means that schools in the Cape Town, the West Coast, and the Eden and Central Karoo Education Districts will be open tomorrow unless approval has been granted by the Head of Department.

‘This decision is based on the interests of learner and teacher safety in the Overberg and Cape Winelands Education Districts, particularly with regard to travelling to and from schools,’ said Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier.

The rainfall has caused widespread damage to roads and flooding, affecting school transport routes and resulting in the closure of many schools.

According to the provincial department, several schools have also reported flood damage to their premises.

“We have asked that schools i
n the Overberg and Cape Winelands Education Districts to inform their parents and caregivers of the continued closure tomorrow.’

These schools will reopen on Monday, 15 July 2024, unless communicated otherwise.

According to the department, 217 schools across the province have now reported some form of damage to school infrastructure or disruption.

‘Last night’s heavy rains and strong winds unfortunately contributed towards this figure. Eighty-six cases are regarded as serious and require our attention. Our infrastructure teams are addressing these cases as fast as possible. I am grateful for their continued commitment in these adverse conditions,’ Maynier said.

‘I am also very appreciative of the support received from school principals and their management teams in implementing the decision to close schools in some of our districts.’

He took the time to thank all parents and caregivers for their support.

‘We do not decide to close schools lightly and have the best interests of our learners and teachers
at heart when making these decisions,’ Maynier added.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has issued a level 8 warning for disruptive rain.

The Western Cape Government (WCG) said the warning remains in place for heavy rain, flooding, and mudslides, particularly in the Cape Town metro, Drakenstein and Stellenbosch regions.

Parents can use the ‘Find my School’ search finder to confirm if their school falls under these two districts where the schools will be closed by visiting https://wcedemis.westerncape.gov.za/wced/findaschool.html.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has emphasised the department’s commitment to forge ahead with implementing the National Health Insurance (NHI) in phases in his Budget Vote Speech.

‘We will have to start implementing NHI in phases, as we are already in phase 2. The rest of the building blocks of health will easily fall into place,’ Motsoaledi said on Thursday.

Tabling the Budget Vote for the 2024/25 financial year in Parliament, the Minister announced that the department had been allocated R62 218 899, a 3.5% increase from the previous year’s R60.1 billion.

He informed Parliament that his priorities for the next five years consist of six building blocks outlined by the World Health Organisation (WHO). These include leadership, governance, access to essential medicine, the health workforce, health systems financing, information systems, and service delivery.

‘Five of the six building blocks seem acceptable to everybody and debates around them are straightforward and clear. But one of them has generat
ed a lot of heat and sometimes fury in some quarters. This is the health systems financing. In our country we have decided to call this NHI,’ he said.

The Minister said some believe that the country is not ready for the NHI, while others are of the view that it is ‘very expensive’ and the country has no money for it.

‘NHI is a health financing system, called Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by the WHO. It is a health financing system, which is meant to be an equaliser between the rich and the poor.’

Motsoaledi told the Parliamentarians that it was no debate that South Africa is the most unequal society in the whole world.

‘If you want to see what inequality means, come to the health sector in South Africa. Within the borders of the same country, some are getting world-class healthcare, while others get such poor healthcare you may believe we live in different countries.’

However, he said the country can no longer sustain such ‘gross inequality’ and South Africa has been seeking a solution for the past 96
years.

The Minister referenced the WHO, which states that a country should allocate at least 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to health to have a good healthcare system for everyone.

‘This is not 5% of the budget of a country, it is the GDP, the total health of a country. In South Africa, we have far surpassed that recommended 5%. We are at 8.5%. European countries are at 9%.’

This means South Africa’s health system was supposed to be as advanced as countries in Europe, Motsoaledi explained.

‘As is evident that is not the case. The question is why? But the fact remains that 51% of it goes to serve only 14% of the population and the nearly meagre 49% goes to serve a whopping 86% of the population.’

He told the Chairperson that this needs to ‘stop now’ and while there is support for the NHI, there are those who do not support it in its current form.

‘Fair enough, but we cannot throw the baby away with the bathwater. Let us discuss which areas need to be ironed out but let us now be obstacles to what
poor people have been waiting for close to a century,’ he added.

Source: South African Government News Agency

KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC, Siboniso Duma, says the department is doubling its efforts to build Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) after 196 homes were destroyed by raging veld fires in Umlalazi Local Municipality.

Duma visited the families in Umlalazi and Mthonjaneni Local Municipalities, who were affected by Sunday’s veld fires, to give comfort to the victims, and assess the damage and relief needed to assist the victims.

Among the families visited are the Gazu family, who lost a family member during an incident. Muntukabongwa Gazu (67) sustained severe burn injuries after the family’s five mud houses were reduced to ashes by runaway fires at Ezinyosini – Ward 1 in Umlalazi Local Municipality. Another family member, Japhet Gazu, is currently in the hospital.

‘We are here to comfort the family following the untimely death of their father. The heart-wrenching story narrated by Gazu family and the traumatic experience they have gone through calls for all of us to be closer to them and
other families,’ Duma said.

Duma said the Head of Department, Mdu Zungu, and the entire team will ensure that the family gets a decent house and is assisted with funeral arrangements.

‘The Temporary Residential Unit for the Gazu family will be finished this weekend to enable the family to bury their father with dignity. We must hasten to point out that the profiling of affected families is continuing to ensure that accurate information is submitted to the Emergency Housing Unit located in the national Department of Human Settlements.

‘Critically, we agree with the Minister of Human Settlements, Mammaloko Kubayi, who suggested that alternative building technology must be introduced to ensure that fire or flood resistant houses are constructed for vulnerable members of society,’ Duma said.

The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of extremely high fire danger conditions in the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal today.

The affected areas include Abaqulusi, Alfred Duma (Indaka and Ladysmith), Big Fiv
e Hlabisa (Hlabisa), Dannhauser, eDumbe, eMadlangeni, Endumeni, Jozini, Msinga, Mthonjaneni, Newcastle, Nkandla, Nongoma, Nquthu, Okhahlamba, Ulundi, uMlalazi and uPhongolo.

The provincial Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has urged residents in the affected areas to be on high alert and take this warning seriously and cooperate fully with fire safety measures.

Source: South African Government News Agency